Best of our wild blogs: 22 Apr 09

27 Apr (Mon): Public Seminar on “Status of Coral Reefs in Asia and the World" on the wild shores of singapore blog

Hantu coral survey 14 Mar 09
on the Blue Water Volunteers blog

St. John's Island Recee
on the Urban Forest blog

Ferocious monkey goes shopping at Elias Mall
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog

Squirrel drowning at Swiss Club: an update
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog

Red-legged Crake hit by a car
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

How is garbage collected from ships in Singapore?
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Read more!

Earth Day Facts: When It Is, How It Began, What to Do

John Roach, National Geographic 20 Apr 09;

From not-so-humble beginnings in 1970, when 20 million participated across the U.S., Earth Day has grown into a global tradition, with a billion expected to take part in 2009. Find out when it is, how it started, how it's evolved, and what you can do.

When Is Earth Day?

Every day, the saying goes, is Earth Day. But it's popularly celebrated on April 22. Why?

One persistent rumor holds that April 22 was chosen because it's the birthday of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union.

"Lenin's goal was to destroy private property and this goal is obviously shared by environmentalists," the Capitalism Magazine Web site noted in a 2004 article perpetuating the theory.

Kathleen Rogers, president of Washington, D.C.-based Earth Day Network, which was founded by the original organizers of Earth Day, scoffs at the rumored communist connection.

She said April 22, 1970, was chosen for the first Earth Day in part because it fell on a Wednesday, the best part of the week to encourage a large turnout for the environmental rallies held across the country.

"It worked out perfectly, because everybody was at work and they all left," she said.

In fact, more than 20 million people across the U.S. are estimated to have participated in that first Earth Day.

(PICTURES: The First Earth Day--Bell-Bottoms and Gas Masks.)

Earth Day is now celebrated every year by more than a billion people in 180 nations around the world, according to Rogers.

Mad People and a Frustrated Politician

Earth Day's history is rooted in 1960s activism. The environment was in visible ruins and people were mad, according to Rogers.

"It wasn't uncommon in some cities during rush hour to be standing on a street corner and not be able to see across the street" because of pollution, she said.

Despite the anger, green issues were absent from the U.S. political agenda, which frustrated U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, whose campaigns for the environment through much of the 1960s had fallen flat.

First Earth Day "Took off Like Gangbusters"

In 1969 Nelson hit on the idea of an environmental protest modeled after anti-Vietnam War demonstrations called teach-ins.

"It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country," Nelson recounted in an essay shortly before he died in July 2005 at 89.

"The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air—and they did so with spectacular exuberance."

Nelson recruited activist Denis Hayes to organize the April 22, 1970, teach-in, which today is sometimes credited for launching the modern environmental movement.

By the end of 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been born, and efforts to improve air and water quality were gaining political traction.

"It was truly amazing what happened," Rogers said. "Blocks just tumbled."

Earth Day Evolves

Amy Cassara is a senior associate at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C., who analyzes global environmental trends.

She noted that, since Earth Day started, environmentalism has moved from a fringe issue to a mainstream concern. "As many as 80 percent of Americans describe themselves as environmentalists," Cassara said.

Environmental issues today, however, are less immediate than dirty air, toxic water, and a hole in the ozone layer, she added.

For example, the impacts of global climate change are largely abstract and difficult to explain "without coming off as a doomsday prognosticator," Cassara said.

"As we become more industrialized and our supply chains become less transparent, it can be more difficult to understand the environmental consequences of our actions," she noted.

Earth Day Network is pushing the Earth Day movement from single-day actions—such as park cleanups and tree-planting parties—to long-term commitments.

"Planting a tree, morally and poetically, requires taking care of it for a really long time, not just sticking it in the ground," Earth Day Network's Rogers said.

To help make the transition, the organization is aligned with a hundred thousand schools around the world, integrating projects with an environmental component into the year-round curriculum.

"They announce the results on Earth Day, so Earth Day becomes a moment in time," Rogers said.

Cassara, of the World Resources Institute, said her organization uses Earth Day to convene with leaders in the movement and assess progress in their campaigns.

"[Earth Day] doesn't raise awareness among the general public in the same way that it used to. But it still provides a benchmark for reflection among those of us in the environmental community," she said.

What to Do on Earth Day?

For those whose inner environmentalist speaks loudest on April 22, Earth Day Network's Rogers encourages them to make a public commitment to take an environmental action.

"We are headed for a billion commitments to do something green," Rogers said. "And that doesn't mean think about it—it means do something."

Commitment ideas promoted by the Earth Day Network include pledging to educate friends and family on global warming or buy green products such as energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

The commitments are part of a yearlong initiative called the Green Generation, which leads up to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010.

(See pictures of quirky Earth Day stunts.)

According to Rogers, everyone is part of this generation, which marks the transition from the industrial revolution to the green revolution.

"It is also about the green generation of energy and the generation of green jobs. ... The name [Green Generation], whenever I say it to people, they have their own idea of what it means, which is exactly what we want."

Read more!

Is it time to retire Earth Day?

Every Day Is Earth Day?
If only it were so. Why it may be time to give up the one-day-a-year celebration
Daniel Stone, Newsweek 21 Apr 09;

It's widely debated how exactly it started, but the roots of the modern environmental movement trace back to the 1960s. Early in the decade, Rachel Carson published her nonfiction work "Silent Spring" as a wake-up call to current and impending environmental concerns. Several years later, U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson (of Wisconsin), one of the government's first eco warriors, sought to harvest general awareness and turn it into a movement. He hit on the idea of an event, modeled after the anti-Vietnam war teach-ins of the day, to raise eco consciousness nationwide. The event that turned into the first "Earth Day" took place on April 22, 1970, and became the catalyst for a series of nature-based legislation and eventually the emergence of a mainstream environmental movement.

Back then, the issues were only broadly understood.

There was some talk about extinctions of wildlife, scarce groundwater supplies and a niche-but-growing theory about something called climate change (Was the Earth, NEWSWEEK wondered in the 1970s, getting colder—or was it getting warmer?). Still, there was an emerging consensus that our planet's resources are not infinite, and if the exploitation of them remained unaddressed, bigger problems awaited. The takeaway for the 20 million people who participated that first Earth Day in 1970 was simple: we all live on the same rock; let's not foul our nest.

The first Earth Day was like the sounding of a bullhorn for the people to unite and get moving, which worked. But this year, 39 years later, the original intent has long eroded. The one-day demonstration that started a movement lost most of its luster decades ago. Yet we still have it—and that has alarming implications for our environmental progress. What was originally intended as a sounding alarm has been reproduced each year in the exact same way. The problem is, it's hard to be motivated by a screeching alarm when you've been hitting the snooze button for the last four decades. Even worse, maintaining an old solution to a problem that changes by the minute seems to compartmentalize a movement that, by now, should be much broader, more frequent and much more inclusive.

Ardent environmentalists hold some contempt at the idea of still having an annual, one-day celebration. As a friend who's an environmental researcher told me last week, Earth Day for environmental professionals is like Easter for Christians: it's a good excuse to have a party, but the real discipleship is supposed to happen all year. In other words, the eco roar that once captivated the world's attention somehow turned into an annual whimper of corporate sponsorships and moving yet empty speeches about the future of our children. "It's been reduced to planetary sound bites," says Chip Giller, the editor of the environmental online magazine Grist.org, which this month launched a "Screw Earth Day" campaign. "It's not about a single day, dude, it's about living green every day," reasoned David Roberts, one of the site's writers, in response to criticism of the site's irreverent take on the celebration.

In that sense, it's safe to think of modern celebrations of Earth Day as an annual tradition, something akin to, say, Mothers Day, when we're supposed to celebrate on one day how much we love mothers all year. And there's great virtue in annual celebrations, even an annual ode to Mother Nature. In a larger sense, it marks a recognition of where the conservation movement has come from, and where it's going.


EARTH DAY 2009
environmentalist judy bonds at 2005 rally at Goal Coal
'Slaves to Industry'
Daniel Stone

In the middle of coal-producing Appalachia, the daughter of a miner is standing up for the environment.
Activist: Green the Ghetto and Forget Polar Bears
Green for God: Religious Environmentalism
A Green Latino Movement in South Los Angeles
Is It Time to Retire Earth Day?
Photos: It Ain't Easy Being Green


Loud advocacy on the National Mall and assembly fields across the country do indeed spread awareness of what people can do to help. It also opens the tent of the movement and encourages people to modestly change their lifestyle. Some thinkers, like environmental historian William Cronon, see an undeniable value in how, given the intricacies of environmental issues—inner city health, global warming, renewable energy—an annual day of environmental reckoning brings everyone to the table to take stock of the broader movement.

But when it comes to environmental progress, shouldn't we be further along in 2009? And if we're not, it's certainly a signal that we've got to move faster. "We've got to accept that we're never going to solve a problem as big as global warming as individuals," says Adam Rome, a Penn State professor of human interaction with nature, who's working on a book about the first Earth Day. "Expecting present-day Earth Day to change society is ridiculous." Having an annual open house implies that there are still people on the outside who have yet to come in. And when they see environmentalists going big one day of the year, it suggests the rest of the days they go home, which doesn't quite attach urgency to the issue.

No one can belittle the accomplishments of the modern environmental movement. As the science has advanced, so too has the sheer number of groups and dollars devoted to conservation and activism. Yet a singular Earth Day—the same kind that we had in 1970 when we knew much less—suggests that we still haven't moved much, or at all. It makes it appear that environmental protection is still a franchise issue, one of many, that we don't have time to address as our busy lives race, so we make time to celebrate once each year.

The mantra that developed in the years following the original Earth Day was that "Earth Day is Every Day," or at least that it should be. That kitschy statement (who can disagree?) hung on a poster in my elementary school, two decades ago. The fact that we still, 39 years later, have one loud day devoted to environmental prudence belies that pursuit of diligent year-round conservation. As we approach the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, t's a contradiction worth noting.

Read more!

Great Barrier Reef: Astonishing recovery from 2006 bleaching event

Reef boom beats doom
The University of Queensland Australia 21 Apr 09;

Marine scientists say they are astonished at the spectacular recovery of certain coral reefs in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from a devastating coral bleaching event in 2006.

That year high sea temperatures caused massive and severe coral bleaching in the Keppel Islands, in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. The damaged reefs were quickly smothered by a single species of seaweed � an event that can spell the total loss of the corals.

However, a lucky combination of rare circumstances meant the reefs were able to achieve a spectacular recovery, with abundant corals re-established in a single year, said Dr Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, from the Centre for Marine Studies at The University of Queensland and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS).

Dr Diaz-Pulido said that the rapid recovery was due to an exceptional combination of previously-underestimated ecological mechanisms.

"Three factors were critical," he said.

"The first was exceptionally high regrowth of fragments of surviving coral tissue. The second was an unusual seasonal dieback in the seaweeds, and the third was the presence of a highly competitive coral species, which was able to outgrow the seaweed.

"But this also all happened in the context of a well-protected marine area and moderately good water quality.

"It is rare to see reports of reefs that bounce back from mass coral bleaching or other human impacts in less than a decade or two.

"The exceptional aspect was that corals recovered by rapidly regrowing from surviving tissue," said Dr Sophie Dove, also from CoECRS and The University of Queensland.

"Recovery of corals is usually thought to depend on sexual reproduction and the settlement and growth of new corals arriving from other reefs," she said.

"This study demonstrates that for fast-growing coral species asexual reproduction is a vital component of reef resilience."

Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of the CoECRS and The University of Queensland said that coral reefs globally were increasingly being damaged by mass bleaching and climate change.

Their capacity to recovery from that damage was critical to their future, he said.

"Our study suggests that managing local stresses that affect reefs, such as overfishing and declining water quality, can have a big influence on the trajectory of reefs under rapid global change," Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said.

"Clearly, we need to urgently deal with the problem of rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but managing reefs to reduce the impact of local factors can buy important time while we do this."

Understanding the different mechanisms of resilience is critical for reef management under climate change.

"Diversity in processes may well be critical to the overall resilience and persistence of coral reef ecosystems globally," said Dr Laurence McCook, from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The research was partially funded by a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation awarded to Dr McCook, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority as well as the ARC Centre of Excellence program.

"This combination of circumstances provided a lucky escape for the coral reefs in Keppel Islands, but is also a clear warning for the Great Barrier Reef," Dr McCook said.

"As climate change and other human impacts intensify, we need to do everything we possibly can to protect the resilience of coral reefs."

The research was published this week in the paper Doom and boom on a resilient reef: Climate change, algal overgrowth and coral recovery, in the journal PLoS ONE, by Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Laurence J. McCook, Sophie Dove, Ray Berkelmans, George Roff, David I. Kline, Scarla Weeks, Richard D. Evans, David H. Williamson and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg.


'Lucky escape' for Australian coral reef
AFP Yahoo News 23 Apr 09;

SYDNEY (AFP) – A section of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, which scientists have warned could be killed by global warming within decades, has regenerated itself in record time, a scientist said Thursday.

But Laurence McCook, head of research for the authority that preserves the World Heritage-listed reef, said the giant organism remained at serious threat of climate change and labelled the partial regeneration a "lucky escape.".

The badly damaged stretch of coral at Keppel Island, at the reef's southern end, became strangled by seaweed after it began bleaching in 2006 due to elevated sea temperatures and acidity, the results of global warming.

Bleaching occurs when the plant-like organisms that make up coral die and leave behind the white limestone skeleton of the reef.

Bleached coral usually takes up to 10 years to regrow by a process of "reseeding," when larvae from a distant reef is carried by currents to repopulate the damaged area.

But in an unusual combination of circumstances, McCook said, the Keppel reef managed "asexual regrowth" from surviving tissue fragments and had returned to abundance in just 12 months.

"This is very unusual because it was a single species of seaweed and it's a species that dies back in winter," McCook told AFP.

"Then some of the coral had actually maintained enough surviving tissue that they were actually able to grow much faster than we would normally expect."

But he urged caution about the finding, describing it as an unusual and rare combination of the perfect conditions.

"If the reefs had been heavily polluted, if the area had been overfished, if tourism wasn't being well managed, all of those things could lead to the reef failing to recover," he said.

While the overall health of the Great Barrier Reef was "relatively good on a global scale," McCook said it was under very serious threat from climate change and other human impacts.

"This is a timely warning of just how serious the damage (can be) that climate change can cause. We had a lucky escape because of these unusual circumstances and that is a rare event," he said.

The reef, which is treasured as the world's largest living organism, stretches for 345,000 square kilometres (133,000 square miles) off Australia's northeast coast.

Coral growth has slowed markedly on the reef since 1990, believed to be caused by warmer seas and higher acidity.

Read more!

On Earth Day, support farms here by choosing locally-grown produce

Go local to go green
Teh Jen Lee, The New Paper 22 Apr 09;

FOR Earth Hour, there was the call to switch off lights and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For Earth Day tomorrow, the call is to become part of 'The Green Generation'.

The Earth Day Network website states: 'With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 must be a day of action and civic participation, to defend The Green Generation's core principles.'

The three principles are:

# A future based on renewable energy that will end dependency on fossil fuels

# Individuals committed to responsible, sustainable consumption

# The creation of a new green economy.

How can Singaporeans be part of The Green Generation?

By choosing to buy locally-grown produce and reducing their food miles.

Food miles refers to the distance food is transported from where it is produced to the consumer.

It is a factor used in assessing the environmental impact of food production.

Buying local produce meets all three principles of The Green Generation.

Firstly, there is less dependence on fossil fuels because there is less transporting and less air-conditioned storing of the produce to be done.

Locally-grown food can be harvested and put on supermarket shelves within hours.

Compare this with cabbages from China, which have to pass through Beijing and Guangzhou before reaching Singapore.

Mr Tai Yee Seng, group marketing manager for Zenxin Agri-organic Food, a company based in Malaysia and Singapore, said: 'Reducing the food miles can also ensure freshness. When food is fresher, it's more nutritious.'

Secondly, buying local represents responsible consumption because there is greater accountability over the food that is grown here.

Farms in Singapore produce seafood, eggs and vegetables. Quite a few of these farms grow organic produce.

Even those that do not, limit the amount of chemical pesticides and fertilisers used because they are closely monitored by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

AVA said it checks local farm produce for pesticide residues up to six times a year, depending on the crop cycle.

Eating locally is also more sustainable because there is less waste.

Mr Tai said: 'Up to half of the harvest could end up being wasted when produce is exported, because only the best are selected for export.'

He added there's more packaging as well to ensure that produce does not move too much when they are transported over long distances.

Support local farms

Finally, supporting local agriculture goes towards the creation of a new eco-friendly economy.

There are enterprising local farmers like Mr William Ho, 43, who is an in-house guide at the Farmart Centre in Sungei Tengah, which showcases Singapore's farms.

Mr Ho is one of the 28 'farmpreneurs' in the Kranji Countryside Association (KCA), a group which promotes agri-tainment - the merging of agricultural production with recreational activities and public education.

He said: 'There is a great variety of local produce. We have the best quality of chicken and quail eggs available because AVA checks on us every day.'

While there is a price premium for local produce, he said it is worth it due to the many food safety measures put in place.

Mr Ho, director of Lian Wah Hang Farm, which produces poultry like quail, added: 'The more people buy from us, the more we can do mass production and bring costs down.'

Ms Ivy Singh-Lim, president of KCA, agreed: 'When some people see agriculture, they see poverty instead of food.

'We should have the kampungs back, not just small plots of greenery. Stop importing bromeliads from Africa and start having food plants all around.

'To paraphrase a popular slogan in the 1960s, we should make gardens, not war.'

Read more!

Electric vehicles yet to win hearts in Singapore

Straits Times 22 Apr 09;

SALES of the first commercially available electric vehicle here have not been exactly electrifying.

The E-Max scooter was approved by the Land Transport Authority last month. But so far, only one has been registered although distributor Zeco says it has received 10 orders.

Sources blame its low speed - it struggles to hit 50kmh - and its exclusion from the expressways.

The Straits Times understands the Government is not convinced that such vehicles are feasible yet.

A key reason is range anxiety - worry over running out of power.

An electric car being developed by Nissan Motor, for instance, can do 150km between charges. But in a jam on a hot day, with the aircon blasting, the range may plunge.

Electric cars take several hours to recharge from a home power socket. Quick charges require heavy-duty infrastructure, which is not readily available.

Battery lifespan and safety are also concerns. Finally, the carbon footprint of electric cars may be substantial if they are recharged by coal-fired power stations.

But proponents say they are ideal for a small city state like Singapore, where drivers clock an average of only 50km a day.

CHRISTOPHER TAN

Electric cars to cruise on Singapore roads
Govt to test the green vehicles which are set to arrive by early next year
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 22 Apr 09;

MOTORISTS could start breaking free of the tyranny of the pump as soon as early next year, when the first all-electric cars are set to arrive.

The Straits Times understands the Government will launch a new initiative soon to test these high-tech, environmentally-sound vehicles to see how they perform under local conditions.

The first all-electric cars are expected to be brought in by Acceleron EDS, a Sydney-based manufacturer of electric vehicles that is majority owned by Singapore brothers Irving and Ivan Yuen.

It will be followed by major manufacturers, starting with Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen.

Owners of all-electric cars will not need to visit petrol stations - the cars are fully battery-powered and are recharged via a normal household electric socket.

The cars will produce no tailpipe emissions, offer near silent operation and will be far cheaper to maintain than conventional cars: Power is cheaper than petrol, and there is no need to replace engine oil, spark plugs or filters, for instance.

A Toyota Corolla-sized electric car will cost around five cents per km to run based on today's electricity tariff - one-third that of an equivalent petrol car.

The downside is electric cars will cost more upfront: Acceleron expects its cars to retail at $20,000 to $25,000 more than a petrol model of the same size.

This is after the current green vehicle rebate, which grants a 40 per cent reduction on the additional registration fee, the main car tax.

Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen do not have price details.

But the Japanese company indicated that its electric car would cost 'at least 1.5 times' as much as a conventional model. As a result, the company is hoping to get a leg-up via bigger tax breaks. It has been in talks with various government agencies on this, sources said.

Renault and Nissan, for example, have already secured governmental support in various countries, including Ireland, Monaco and China.

Singapore's Economic Development Board, which has been trying to encourage the use of electric vehicles here because they could form the basis of a new high-tech industry, is expected to help defray the cost of the initial batch of 'test-bed' cars.

The EDB may place these cars under its Transport Technology Innovation and Development Scheme, which would exempt them from car taxes. It is unclear whether more grants would be given to cars that arrive at showrooms.

The board would only say it 'has been working with partner agencies to develop Singapore as a 'living laboratory' to develop, test, and implement innnovative solutions here for global markets'.

Acceleron's Mr Irving Yuen is all ears. The brothers, he said, chose to set up operations in Australia because 'it has a 20-year history in electric vehicles and it has automotive engineers with extensive knowledge on electric vehicles'.

But if given a boost by the Government, it is willing to set up operations in Singapore and use it as a springboard to enter other markets in the region.

Acceleron does not make its cars from scratch. Rather, it takes a conventional car and replaces its internal combustion system with an electric drive one.

This, explained Mr Yuen, is faster and cheaper than designing and making a car from scratch. It also allows customers a wide choice of models.

The race to get alternative fuel vehicles on roads throughout the world is heating up. Among the early leaders are small companies like Tesla, whose all-electric Roadster is already on American roads. Chevrolet's Volt will hit US showrooms next year.

The latest incarnation of Toyota's hybrid Prius is also due out in Singapore later this year.

Read more!

Earth Day Message from Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary

General and Executive Director, UN Environment Programme
UNEP website 21 Apr 09;

Nairobi, 21 April 2009 On April 22, we celebrate the Anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970, a landmark in the history of the environmental movement - a movement, which gave birth to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1972.

The first Earth Day was conceived partly out of frustration that basic issues like air quality and water pollution still had not been addressed. Today, intelligent management of the planet has to be a fundamental issue taking center stage, as the international community faces the twin challenges of dealing with the most serious global economic crisis since the 1930s, and negotiating an equitable and definitive agreement on climate change in Copenhagen in December.

Many major economies have introduced "green" stimulus packages. Various programs, such as UNEP's Green Economy Initiative, seek to re-focus the global economy towards investments in clean technologies and "natural" infrastructure such as forests and soils, as the best bet for real growth, combating climate change and triggering an employment boom in the 21st century.

However, this is just the beginning. Sealing the climate deal at the crucial UN climate convention in Copenhagen will not happen without a groundswell of public pressure for action on climate change ? in developed and developing nations alike. The message to world leaders is simple and urgent: "Seal the Deal! - Work together to find a solution that is scientifically-credible, equitable and economically-defensible.

The past few years have seen renewed interest from the public in engaging in environmental stewardship. Bridging the gap between Earth Day on April 22nd, and World Environment Day, 6 weeks later on June 5th, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations mobilizes this enthusiasm, enhancing political attention and action. The theme for WED 2009, Your Planet Needs You. UNite to Combat Climate Change, reflects the urgency for nations to join in addressing climate change, by reducing their carbon footprint, and improving the management of forests and other valuable natural resources.

Earth Day initiatives demonstrate how responsible governments, civil society, and the private sector can catalyze this energy, by promoting an enhanced understanding of the challenges we all face in safeguarding our own survival and that of future generations.

Read more!

Marine turtles victims of Southeast Asian fishing nets: WWF

Yahoo News 21 Apr 09;

MANILA (AFP) – Endangered marine turtles and sharks are being killed each year by Southeast Asian fishermen who throw them away as "unwanted catch", the World Wildlife Fund said Tuesday.

The international conservation group estimated in a new study that millions of kilograms (pounds) of marine species are caught in fishing nets and discarded every year in the so-called Coral Triangle.

The triangle, which spans the seas of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, is considered by scientists to contain the most diverse collection of marine species anywhere on earth.

It is also home to six of the world's seven known species of marine turtles, including three that are listed as "endangered" under the so-called "Red List" of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and three on its "Critically Endangered" list, WWF said in a statement.

The study co-authored by the fund found at least 38 million tonnes of fish, consisting of at least 40 percent of the world's recorded fish catch, is unused, wasted or not accounted for.

In the Coral Triangle where fishing is highly unregulated, this translates into many millions of kilograms of so-called bycatch, it added.

"In many cases, fish and marine animals are thrown back to sea dead or dying and currently even if bycatch is used there is no way to tell whether it was sustainable to remove it in the first place," said WWF Coral Triangle specialist Keith Symington.

"It is an insidious and invisible form of over-fishing," he added.

"The at-sea bycatch of marine turtles, for example, is one of the greatest threats to the future existence of these highly endangered animals. Marine turtle populations in this region have plummeted over the past decade due to indiscriminate fishing methods."

WWF said it is introducing circle hooks that can greatly reduce turtle bycatch from tuna longlines, without compromising fishing efficiency.

"Circle hooks or C-hooks are a better alternative to the currently used J-hooks because of their round shape, which makes it difficult for turtles to swallow as opposed to the sharper-ended J-hook that can cause severe damage to turtles when accidentally ingested," Symington said.

He said bycatch is "a major killer of marine wildlife, putting several species at risk of extinction and drastically altering the sensitive balance of marine ecosystems."

The paper is to be published in an upcoming edition of Marine Policy, a journal of ocean policy studies.

The paper's figures go well beyond previous global estimates, which focus mainly on catch which is thrown away and vary from between seven and 27 million tonnes a year.

Millions of kilos of marine species wasted every year
Ellalyn B. De Vera, Manila Bulletin 22 Apr 09;

The international conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has estimated that “millions of kilograms” of marine species, including highly-endangered marine turtle and threatened fish species such as sharks, are wasted every year in the Coral Triangle.

The Philippines is one of the countries bordering the "global center of marine biodiversity" known as the Coral Triangle.

In a scientific paper entitled “Defining and Estimating Global Marine Fisheries Bycatch,” co-authored by the WWF, it cited that most of the marine species caught are being thrown back to sea “dead or dying” because they are considered “non-target” or unintentional catch.

This has resulted to nearly half of the world’s recorded fish catch to be “unused, wasted, or not accounted for.”

“In the Coral Triangle where fishing is highly unregulated, this translates into many millions of kilograms of marine life wasted,” the paper stated.

It estimated that each year, 38 million tons of fish worldwide, which constitute at least 40 percent of what is taken from the ocean through fishing activities, is unmanaged or unused and should be considered bycatch.

“Bycatch” or “discards” are part of the catch that is not marketed and discarded at sea during the sorting process.

“In many cases, fish and marine animals are thrown back to sea dead or dying and currently even if bycatch is used there is no way to tell whether it was sustainable to remove it in the first place. It is an insidious and invisible form of overfishing,” WWF Coral Triangle Bycatch strategy leader Keith Symington said.

“The at-sea bycatch of marine turtles, for example, is one of the greatest threats to the future existence of these highly endangered animals. Marine turtle populations in this region have plummeted over the past decade due to indiscriminate fishing methods,” Symington added.

WWF noted that the Coral Triangle, bordered by the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste, is home to six of the world’s seven known species of marine turtles.

The group said three species of marine turtles are listed as “endangered” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and three as “critically endangered.”

Symington said to help address the problem of turtle bycatch in the Coral Triangle, circle hooks, a simple yet innovative fishing hook, should be used.

He explained that using circle hooks, as an alternative to J-hooks, can greatly reduce turtle bycatch from tuna long lines, without compromising fishing efficiency.

Read more!

WWF Eggs On To Save The Turtle Egg

Bernama 21 Apr 09;

PETALING JAYA, April 21 (Bernama) -- The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Malaysia) has embarked on an 'eggs-traordinary' campaign to bag 40,000 signatures in support of preserving the beleaguered turtle eggs.

Its executive director, Datuk Dr Dionysius S. K. Sharma, said the campaign sought support to regulate laws to ban the sale and consumption of turtle eggs nationwide and establish comprehensive and holistic federal legislations to conserve marine turtles.

"Through this campaign, we aim to improve the protection of our marine turtles.

"So, when they sign on to the campaign, they pledge to themselves that they would not eat turtle eggs anymore," he told a media briefing on the campaign here today.

The public can start signing up for the campaign from between tomorrow and Sept 30, by logging in www.wwf.org.my.

Sharma said, marine turtles were now threatened with extinction due to various factors, including consumption of turtles eggs, those accidentally caught in fishing gear, poorly planned coastal development, nesting beach and illegal trade of turtles parts.

"We want to tell the public that we need your support, and with just one signature, maybe they can support us to save the turtles," he added.

-- BERNAMA

WWF wants turtle eggs off Malaysian menus
AFP 22 Apr 09;

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Environmental group WWF Wednesday launched a campaign to stop Malaysians eating turtle eggs, in a bid to help save the marine creatures from extinction.

Turtle eggs are openly sold in markets in parts of Malaysia. Turtles once arrived in their thousands to lay eggs on Malaysian beaches, but are now increasingly rare thanks to poaching and coastal development.

The five-month online campaign aims to collect 40,000 signatures from Malaysians pledging to stop consuming the eggs and halt the trade in turtles and their parts.

"Turtles play a critical role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy," WWF-Malaysia executive director Dionysius S.K. Sharma said in a statement.

"Marine turtles are threatened with extinction due to various factors, including the practice of consuming turtle eggs, becoming accidentally caught in fishing gear, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade of turtles and their parts," he said.

Sharma said that some 10,000 leatherback turtles nested in northeastern Terengganu state every year in the 1950s but that this had been reduced to just 10 a year at present.

Malaysian authorities said last year that they are carrying out night patrols near endangered hawksbill turtle nesting sites in southern Malacca state after 4,000 eggs were stolen.

Under Malaysian law, it is illegal to collect turtle eggs without a permit from the fisheries department, but steady demand for turtle products and eggs in Southeast Asia continues to drive the illegal trade.

The turtles' cause needs to be egged on
New Straits Times 23 Apr 09;

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite years of campaigning, environmentalists are struggling to keep turtle eggs off the dinner table.
An unpublished report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia said 90 per cent of those who buy and eat turtle eggs were Malaysians.

WWF (Coral Triangle) senior adviser Kevin Hiew said consumers bought turtle eggs in Terengganu, Pahang and Malacca.

The consumption of turtle eggs, together with poorly planned coastal development, pollution, the illegal trade in the animal and its parts, and getting caught in fishing nets threatened the existence of all four species that nest in Malaysia -- the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Olive Ridely (Lepidochelys olivacea).

WWF executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said this issue could not be ignored any longer.
"The threats are all bearing down on the turtles, driving them to extinction."

He said action must be taken now to save the green turtle, hawksbill and Olive Ridely from the fate of the leatherbacks.

"There were more than 10,000 leatherback nests at Rantau Abang, Terengganu in the 1950s. Now there are fewer than 10," he said at the launch of WWF's "Egg > Life" campaign, which runs from today till Sept 30. The goal is to get 40,000 pledges not to eat turtle eggs.

"We're also calling on the government to look into comprehensive and consistent federal legislation to conserve marine turtles," he said.

The laws against the trade and consumption of turtle eggs varied from state to state.

Since WWF began campaigning to save turtles in the 1970s, only Sabah and Sarawak have banned the sale and consumption of turtle eggs.

In Terengganu, only the sale and consumption of leatherback eggs is banned. Trade in green, hawksbill and Olive Ridely eggs are allowed.

Other states, such as Malacca, grant licences to turtle egg collectors who are allowed to sell them only to the state Fisheries Department.

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Rare 'mountain chicken' frogs airlifted from path of deadly fungus

One of the world's rarest species of amphibians, the mountain chicken frog, has been airlifted to safety from Montserrat in a last-ditch attempt to save it from extinction
Jessica Aldred, guardian.co.uk 21 Apr 09;

Conservationists have rescued a number of critically endangered "mountain chicken" frogs from the path of a fatal disease which has hit their Caribbean island home of Montserrat.
The decision to remove 50 mountain chicken frogs (Leptodactylus fallax) from their natural habitat was taken in the face of the spread of the chytrid fungus, which is devastating amphibian populations worldwide.

The Zoological Society London (ZSL) and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, based in Jersey, have each provided a home for 12 of the frogs which have been removed from Montserrat. Another 26 have gone to Parken zoo in Stockholm.

The plan is to breed the rescued frogs in captivity in a bid to save the species from extinction.

Montserrat is one of only two sites where the once-common mountain chicken is found, but hundreds of the frogs - one of the world's largest species - have been killed in the last few weeks by the disease.

The mountain chicken - named because its flesh is said to taste like chicken - is threatened by hunting for food and loss of habitat, and most recently by outbreaks of the chytrid fungus.

Chytrid fungus is a disease which infects the skin through which many amphibians drink and breathe. In recent decades it has spread rapidly, and some scientists believe the situation is worsening as temperatures rise due to of climate change.

The other stronghold of the species, Dominica, saw populations crash from around 2002 onwards as a result of the disease, which is thought to have spread to Montserrat late last year or earlier this year.

Dr Andrew Cunningham, a senior ZSL scientist, said: "Chytridiomycosis has already decimated the mountain chickens on Dominica and within a few weeks of the disease being diagnosed on the neighbouring island of Montserrat, its impact has been catastrophic. The mountain chicken frog has been virtually wiped out on the island and the number of surviving frogs decreases every day."

Director of conservation at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, John Fa, said the drastic action to remove the frogs was taken "simply because we know from other experiences that chytrid will completely decimate populations of frogs".

Scientists working with the Montserrat government were able to reach the main healthy population, which they knew would be soon by hit by the spreading chytrid, and remove individuals before it was too late, he said.

The Durrell trust has housed its rescued mountain chickens in a bio-secure unit at its wildlife park in Jersey and hopes to breed from the frogs to create a population which can be reintroduced in as little as two years.

ZSL London zoo will now house mountain chicken frogs from both Dominica and Montserrat in its captive breeding unit which includes temperature controlled rooms, automated spray systems and dedicated areas for rearing live food.

Bio-security measures including full paper suits, masks and gloves worn by keepers, ensure that no pathogens - such as the chytridiomycosis - can enter from the outside.

The mountain chicken is difficult to keep and breed in captivity because of its voracious appetite and its unusual breeding behaviour in which the frog creates a foam nest in the ground for the tadpoles which the female then feeds regularly with unfertilised eggs.

The plan is to reintroduce the frogs to a part of Montserrat which has not been affected by the chytrid fungus, while also maintaining a "safety net population" in captivity in case wild populations are hit by future outbreaks of chytrid.

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Brussels seeks to reel in overfishing

Yacine Le Forestier Yahoo News 21 Apr 09;

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The EU Commission is set to unveil its vision for a sustainable fishing industry on Wednesday, seeking cuts in fleets and proposing a fishing quota trading system that is not to everyone's taste.

The ideas are included in a draft paper, seen by AFP on Tuesday, that is due to be formally adopted by the EU executive on Wednesday.

While seeking to fix more long-term methods to tackle the growing problem of overfishing, the Green Paper on reforming the European Union's fisheries policy risks inflaming discontent which has already led to French fishermen crippling English Channel ports with a three-day blockade last week.

The need for a policy overhaul is underlined in the paper.

"European fish stocks have been overfished for decades and the fishing fleets remain too large for the available resources," said the draft paper.

"Too many vessels chase too few fish," it added.

"The community's fishing fleet is now two-thirds bigger than the sea can offer in resources," explained one commission official, commenting on the report which could yet be tweaked ahead of its formal publication.

One remedy which the commission would like the 27 EU member states to consider is to liberalise the quota system to encourage sustainable fishing.

Under the current system, EU nations haggle at the end of each year on how to share out fishing quotas among themselves that are then distributed among their national fishing fleets.

Brussels is now leaning towards a system already used in Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Iceland whereby governments hand out "individual and transferable" quotas to fishermen on a one off basis.

These can then be bought and sold on the private market.

Supporters of this kind of system say it encourages fishing boats to operate in a more responsible manner, aware that the stocks of fish they are managing are their nest-egg, for when they retire and sell up for instance.

Such a mechanism could also lead to a gradual reduction in fishing fleet numbers, with the smaller, less profitable operators selling their rights to the bigger more efficient fleets.

"Use of market instruments such as transferable rights to fishing may be a more efficient and less expensive way to reduce overcapacity and one for which the industry has to take more responsibility," the commission opines.

At the same time the commission wants to retain "coastal, small-scale and recreation fishermen alongside larger industries," by using different management schemes with more of a social focus for the small operators.

At present, the commission says 88 percent of European fish stocks are being overfished, with 30 percent already "outside safe biological limits," meaning they may not be able to replenish.

Some EU nations including Denmark and the Netherlands are in favour of the tradeable quotas scheme.

However others, notably France, oppose the idea of turning fisheries into another vehicle for the speculators.

"There is too much risk, possibilities for speculation, of elimination of small fishing outfits," one French diplomat complained.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) calls the Green Paper "commendably honest" in admitting that radical reform is needed to save Europe's fish stocks and create a profitable fisheries sector.

Up till now the EU Commission and nations "have failed our fisheries and failed our industry. But now they can no longer preach an agenda of reform and ignore their own words when hard choices need to be made," the group said.

At present in Europe, nearly two-thirds of fish stocks are in decline, WWF added, including some of the most popular species like cod, plaice and sole.

Environmental group Greenpeace set out its own blueprint including the rule that "fishing activities should only be licensed subject to a prior assessment of their environmental impact."

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Indonesia to allow underground mining in forests

Fitri Wulandari, Reuters 21 Apr 09;

JAKARTA, April 21 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to issue a presidential decree to allow miners to carry out underground mining in its protected forest, a government official said on Tuesday, alarming green groups.

Indonesia has some of the world's largest reserves of minerals and is keen to increase revenue from the mining sector, which hosts international firms such as Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The decree, which is expected to benefit dozens of mining firms, clarifies Indonesia's forestry law issued in 1999 that prohibited open-pit mining in protected forest areas but did not specify whether underground mining was permitted.

"The presidential decree will give legal basis so that underground mining is allowed in protected forest areas," Bambang Setiawan, director general of mineral, geothermal and coal at the country's energy ministry, told reporters.

"The existing law only forbids open-pit mining in protected forest areas," he said, adding that the decree was awaiting approval by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Indonesia's conflicting mining and forestry regulations have resulted in considerable confusion over which areas are protected and which may be opened for exploitation.

Only 13 mining companies are now allowed to carry out open-pit mining in protected forest areas after former President Megawati Sukarnoputri issued a decree in 2004 allowing the firms, including a local unit of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), to resume mining activities, including exploration, development and production in these areas.

The companies had obtained mining permits before the 1999 forestry law was issued and had proved that their projects were economically viable and had mining reserves.

The new decree would help attract mining investment, while protecting the environment, said M.S. Marpaung, director of engineering and environment at the energy and mines ministry.

"It will encourage miners to carry out exploration to find new mineral resources that are often located in the forest," Marpaung said, adding that underground mining was suitable for Indonesia, given its extensive forest.

While acknowledging that underground mining has less impact on the environment, green groups said it should be limited to production forests designated for commercial purposes such as pulp and paper mills or timber companies.

"The government has given up protected forests for open-pit mining to 13 mining firms. It should not worsen the situation by allowing underground mining in the areas," said Pius Ginting, mining campaigner of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi).

"Protected forest still has rich biodiversity and we need it to reduce carbon emission," he said. Indonesia is estimated by conservation groups to have one of the world's swiftest deforestation rates.

Indonesia has mineable nickel reserves of 547 million tonnes, 112 million tonnes of bauxite and 43 million tonnes of copper, data from the mining and energy ministry showed.

Mineable reserves of tin stand at 336,911 tonnes, measured in terms of refined tin, while gold reserves were 4,341 tonnes, it said. (Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)

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